Never Use Payday Loans The Most Beneficial Features Of Low Interest Credit Cards Cashing In With American Express Blue Cash For Business

Should I Ever Use a Payday Loan Service?

In the past several years, payday loan stores have been popping up all over the country. With names like “Check Into Cash,” “The Cash Store,” and “EZ Money,” they offer unsophisticated consumers the promise of quick, easy cash with few questions asked. But at what price?

The High Cost of Easy Money

Americans paid more than $6 billion in payday loan fees in 2005, and the number is likely to be much higher when the results for 2006 are tabulated.

Payday lending is a big business, and it’s also one of the fastest growing in the country. EZCorp, for example, was a lowly Texas-based pawnbroker just a few years ago. Thanks to expanding into the payday loans business in 2002, the company has more than quintupled its profits, and its stock had the best one-year price performance of any company traded on the major exchanges or NASDAQ, through June, 2006.

While buying EZCorp’s stock a year ago would have been a wise financial decision, actually using the company’s services has never been a good idea. The reason EZCorp and companies like it make so much money is because they rip off their customers, and this is hardly a matter of opinion. According to EZCorp’s 2006 report for shareholders, the average payday loan has an annual percentage rate (APR) of 530 percent – and that’s not a typo – that’s highway robbery. So why would anyone ever use a payday loan service?

Target Market – The Unsophisticated and Credit Constrained Consumer

Most of the payday loan business’s customers are people who are unsophisticated and / or have made bad decisions with their credit in the past. These are people with no savings and no credit, who live check-to-check. They don’t realize that when they agree to pay a $40 fee for a $200, two-week loan, they are paying an astronomical annual interest rate. Or in some cases, they just don’t care – they feel that they have no other options.

A disturbingly large percentage of people use payday loan services in order to avoid incurring NSF (non-sufficient funds) charges with their banks. People living check-to-check, with no access to conventional credit, can be devastated by unexpected expenses. Imagine a single mother who needs to write a $200 check to get her car fixed in order to get to work the next day, but she doesn’t have the $200 in her bank account. She writes the check and then immediately goes to the payday loan store, where she can usually borrow the $200 with nothing beyond verification of her employment with a recent check stub. In this case, the single mom may actually be making a wise choice – since NSF fees are said to have an APR of 665 percent, and bank overdraft fees are even higher, at 1,160 percent APR. Clearly, the system is stacked against those who need the most help.

The Cycle of Indentured Servitude – And How To Avoid It

In the worst cases, people end up working all week in order to pay back their payday loan, and then have to take out another payday loan in order to make ends meet. Thus, the cycle continues, and these unfortunate people are relegated to the modern equivalent of indentured servitude.

The best way to prevent this from happening to you is to always maintain adequate lines of credit. In the above example, if the person could have simply charged the $200 repair bill on her Visa or Mastercard, all would have been well. Using a credit card to automatically pay for your regularly occurring charges, such as your phone and cable bills, is a good way to avoid NSF or bank overdraft fees, as well.

If you find yourself in trouble, be sure to always pay the minimum due on your credit cards – make this a priority second only to survival. If you default on your credit cards, you may have a very difficult time getting credit again in the future. Avoid the mistakes of the payday loan consumer, and of course, avoid the payday loan stores. Your money should be applied for your own benefit, not to the bottom line of unethical companies that make profits for their shareholders by exploiting the poor.

Take Care,

https://www.coolwebtips.com you’re seriously interested in knowing about low interest credit cards, you will need to read this article. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know about low interest credit cards. If you don’t have accurate details regarding low interest credit cards, then you might make a bad choice. Don’t let that happen: keep reading.

The most beneficial feature of low interest credit cards is the popular zero introductory interest rate that can last up to 12 months. These offers may only apply to the balance transfer and not to new purchases and cash advance. Therefore, making purchases and taking cash advance with your promotional offer credit card may result in paying multiple interest rates. Individuals who are planning to make purchases and carry a credit card balance each month may be better off with low fixed interest rate credit cards. Customers will need to decide if a 0% intro APR or a low fixed APR credit card is better suited for their personal needs. It’s not uncommon for the interest rate to shoot up dramatically after the introductory period expires. Therefore, customers should know what the interest rate will be after the promotional period ends.

The promotional offer or interest free period can save hundreds of dollars in interest expense. During this interest free period no interest is accrued if the account is in good standing. Many customers utilize the interest free period to transfer balance from high interest rate credit cards to a low interest credit rate credit cards to save money on interest expense. These cards are also very important for customers who are planning to consolidate credit card loans, make large purchases and carry a credit card balance from month to month. Credit card issuers charge a fee to do a balance transfer. This fee varies from bank to bank so it is a good idea to shop around for the best deal. Individuals with excellent credit score can ask to have the fee waived.

Low interest credit card can be very versatile because they have similar feature to a standard credit card. Features can be similar to a standard credit card such as cash back, rewards, no annual fees, bonus miles etc. It’s important to compare features of low interest cards and apply for the one that fulfils your needs. Paying your entire outstanding credit card balance on time each billing cycle is the only way to avoid paying interest expense. This may not be financially feasible for many customers due to the fact that they do not have the available funds. Therefore, by using a low interest credit card to make purchases and maintaining a credit card balance will be the next best choice to save money on interest expense. The amount of interest accrue on your account depends on the interest rate you receive.

It’s a common situation for individuals with bad credit to pay credit card companies large fees and finance charges. This situation keeps the card holder indebted to the credit card companies for years to come if no action is taken. This is a good reason to have excellent credit to avoid high finance charge and fees. Credit card issuers can change the rate of interest on your low interest credit card for several reasons such as making late payment, poor payment history with other creditors, applying for too much credit etc. To maintain good credit habits only charge what you know you can afford.

Many individuals use a low interest credit card to consolidate credit card debts to save money on interest expense. It can eliminate making monthly payments to various creditors. Do the necessary research before deciding to consolidate because if not done wisely can end up costing more than you would have saved. Because consolidation will extend the term of your loan it may increase the total amount of interest payment paid over the life of the loan. Debt consolidation is an excellent opportunity to keep you out of bankruptcy and get your finances back on track. Consolidating simplifies your paperwork and saves time and energy by only keeping records for a single loan instead of several loans.

Understanding grace period as it relates to your low interest credit card is very important. The grace period generally last between 20 to 25 days. This is the number of days stipulated in your credit card agreement before your credit card company starts charging interest on new purchases with certain conditions. During this period customers do not pay finance charges on new purchases if the account did not carry a previous balance. Also, monthly payments must be received during the grace period time frame. Usually credit cards without a grace period are charged finance charges immediately on new purchases even if your previous month’s bill was paid in full.

The internet is the easiest place to find low interest credit cards with online credit card application. Website like www.icreditonline.com offers various types of credit cards. The cards are grouped into different categories. Clicking on low interest credit cards will bring up a list of low interest credit cards. Customers will then be able to compare offers and submit their online credit card application for approval. Going on line to find your credit card is very rewarding because it is very convenient and fast. There is no need to travel from banks to banks trying to find the right credit card. Customers can obtain all the information needed to make a wise decision in choosing a credit card that meets their needs just with the click of your mouse.

Read your credit card agreement to find out if there are separate interest rates for balance transfer, new purchases and cash advance. Card holders maybe charged a very high interest rate and fees for cash advance or making new purchases while getting the 0% intro offer for balance transfer. Don’t let this happen to you. Take the time to read the credit card agreement. Reading and understanding the credit card agreement is of utmost importance because it gives you the knowledge needed to make the right decision.

When you compare American Express Blue Cash for Business against other cash rebate business credit cards, you quickly come to understand why this is the case.

Cash Rebates

Unlike most other cash rebate business credit cards, the American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card allows you to start accumulating cash back rewards from the first time you use your card.

The cash back structure of the American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card is highly competitive and works on a sliding scale: 0.5% for the first $7,500, 2.5% from 7,500.01 to $15,000 and 1% from $15,000 upwards. When you purchase from an OPEN partner, the percentages double automatically.

The cash back rewards you can earn on your American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card are not capped and you are not penalized if – like most small business owners – you decide to settle your monthly balance in full.

Any additional American Express Blue Cash for Business credit cards you may choose to issue to your staff also earn cash rebate rewards.

Discounts

Over and above doubling the rebates you earn on your American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card, you receive discounts of between 3% and 25% from OPEN partners on business purchases such as travel, dining, business supplies, business services and business building tools.

Terms

The American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card is a very economical cash rewards business credit card when compared to its direct competition. In most of the reviews the four salient features that differentiate the American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card are:

$0 annual fee

0% APR on purchases for the first six months

Low on-going 11.24% APR on purchases

7.99% APR on balance transfers for the life of the amount transferred.

Business Support

Finally, many of the reviews report a willingness on the part of American Express to go the extra mile for small businesses. As a holder of the American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card, you gain access to:

24/7 customer support services

Chat facilities and forums where you can speak to other small business owners and experts, Articles and reports purposely compiled for the small business sector.

American Express also offers online reporting and management tools, to help you automate some of your tedious administrative tasks.

The holistic, partnering approach adopted by American Express in designing products such as the American Express Blue Cash for Business credit card, indicates that they are serious about the small business market and committed to adding real value to their small business customers. Judging by the responses on the internet, it is clear that this particular approach has hit the mark.